Regrets
by Kyo's Favorite Kitty
Summary: Hermione and Charlie are good friends, but when he asks her what she regrets she realizes that she loves him. Will she ever tell him? or will Hermione be doomed to die a lonely life due to her fears?. HGCW dedicated to TequilaKiss and all my other readers


A/N This is another Hermione/ Charlie one-shot. This one is for TequilaKiss, although it's not as cutesy as the first one. Hope you guys enjoy it; sorry it took me so long to post it. Italics mean Hermione's thoughts.

Regret

The glowing windows of the apartment complex windows could be seen through the pitch black night and thundering rain. Thunder boomed and lightning crashed, making the night look like a cheesy horror film. Everything in sight was soaking wet and almost everyone had retreated into the comfort of their own homes.

But as another bolt of lightning lit the sky, the form of a small woman could be seen in the park across the street from the apartments. No one was there to see her of course but she was there all the same, and had been for many hours. The woman was not walking, not moving, and not wearing a coat.

Dressed in a light jacket, jeans, tank top, and tennis shoes, Hermione Granger was watching. Thoughts ran through her head faster than one would have believed possible. Almost oblivious to the rain and biting cold that were taking there toll on her slight frame, tears ran down her face and slipped to the ground. The apartment complex was where Charlie Weasley lived and she was thinking back to a few days ago when she had ripped her own heart out and said goodbye.

:Flashback:

Laughing their heads off after drinking a little too much, Hermione and Charlie played rock, paper, scissors in his apartment. Who ever lost the round would have to answer whatever question the winner asked. Both were drunk, but both were having the time of their lives.

This was their Friday night routine. They'd meet somewhere, do something fun, drink a little too much, and generally have a really good time. Friday was singles night for them, not that either of them ever did things on other nights. No one really knew how or when it had started, but everyone was glad to see the two stop working and have some fun.

"Dang", Hermione said quietly, as her rock was bested by paper, "your question." He seemed to contemplate it as they both sipped from their bottles. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking, so she watched the way his thin eyebrows came together in deep thought. Pink/red lips separated slightly and he reached under his white shirt (sorry girls he is wearing a shirt) to scratch his stomach, revealing defined abs.

She was driven out of her rather embarrassing thoughts by his next words." What do most regret about your life?" he raised the bottle to his lips again, a slight smile on his handsome face. Charlie was obviously waiting for an answer, an answer that she couldn't tell him.

'_Her deepest regret?'_ Hermione scoffed in her head, '_there were so many. Her life held so many things she wasn't proud of or couldn't stand up for. But her deepest regret was something he could never know. He would not look at her the same, and maybe even not want to spend time with her any more. He would never understand and never feel the same, so why tell him?'_ She took another drink and felt a tear rush down her face.

Charlie was beside her in an instant. "Mio! Mio calm down. What's wrong angel? I'm sorry if I said something that bothered you. Don't cry Mio, Please don't cry!" He looked so sincere in his apologies that she didn't want to cry, didn't want him to have to apologize. That thought made her wipe away her tears and give him a false smile.

"Regrets huh?" she started out shakily, "I… I… My deepest… I'm sorry Dragon, I can't say it." She grinned inwardly at his affectionate nickname. He was so close to her now, wrapping her up in a tight squeeze and kissing her forehead.

Hermione sunk into his embrace, enjoying the warmth and subconsciously imagining what a life with him would be like. Snuggling like this, safe in his arms. Raising their children in the day and holding each other late at night. It would be perfect. Little red heads and bushy brown haired kids playing on the rug while their parents read in armchairs near the fire.

Suddenly she realized what she was thinking, and she tensed, erasing the thoughts from her mind. Charlie could never, would never feel the same. He saw her as a friend, nothing more. They could never be lovers.

With a little force, she broke out of his hold and jumped off the couch. _They could never be anything more and she knew it, why did she feel this way. What kind of spell had been put on her? She laughed at her naïve thinking, this was no spell. She truly loved Charlie Weasley._ Shaking like a leaf in a sharp wind, she threw on her coat and grabbed her purse running for the door. "I have to…um…do something. See ya later dragon", and she ran out the door.

She tore down the stairs, almost running over two elderly ladies laughing in the stairway, and onto the deserted sidewalk. Charlie could be heard running down the stairs behind her, calling to her retreating form. "Mio wait! What's wrong? Angel!" She kept running, adrenaline and pure fear for her feelings pumping through her body. He could never feel the same.

His footsteps got closer and he caught her arm, pulling her to a stop. They were both panting in the cold night air as she struggled in his grip. "What's going on Hermione?" he said in a voice that portrayed his sadness. _His sadness at what? Her craziness? Her irresponsibility? Her immaturity?_

She shook her head, tears once again cascading down her pretty face. "I'm sorry Dragon", she whispered. His grip loosened and he looked confused. In the softest, most sorrow filled voice she had ever heard, he whispered, "For what?" Tears were glistening in his eyes now too and she wanted nothing more than to hold him until forever.

Slowly she drew her arm away from him and turned around carefully, looking back only to say, "Goodbye Charlie, my dragon." And she was gone, running into the darkness of an autumn night, high-heeled sandals clicking on the sidewalk, leaving one very crushed man crying on the pavement.

:End Flashback:

That night she had gone straight to Harry's place, previously Sirius's. Grimmuald Place was where she lived, with Harry, the Weasley's, and often many other Order members. No matter how much she wanted to be alone at that moment, she needed her home. She needed her family.

She snuck in the door, tears still streaming down her overly pale face, her hair falling out of its clip. Her clothes were wet from the light mist that was falling and the sweat from hours of running. Her make-up was smeared and she looked a real mess, but she needed comfort. No one should be awake at this hour, it was nearly 3 AM, but she saw a light on in the kitchen. Molly was no doubt still awake, preparing the next days meals.

Hermione went straight to the kitchen and slowly pushed open the door, peering inside. Just as she had suspected, Mrs. Weasley was stirring a large bowl of batter at the kitchen table. The woman she had come to think of as a second mother had looked up at the disheveled girl when the door opened. Within second she had her comforting motherly arms around Hermione.

After a cup of tea, many tears, and an explanation, Molly had put Hermione to bed and tucked her in, telling her that things would get much better, and vowing to herself that she would go and have a nice chat about the evening with Charlie.

The next few days had been torture to Hermione. She locked herself in her room after the first few odd looks and demanding questions. She didn't want to talk to the others, they just wouldn't understand, especially the Weasley children, after all they were Charlie's siblings. After endless hours of people knocking on her door, asking to be let in, she had asked Molly to tell them to simply stay away.

After a week they had started their knocking again, and Molly was visiting 5 times a day. Hermione got so fed up that she just left, apparating to the place she had thought about most in the last week. Well, close enough. She had gone to the park across from Charlie's apartment, rather than landing in his house and having to explain her behavior.

That was where she stood now, watching the sky pour down around her and crying for the man she loved, but could never bring herself to tell. For hours she had tried to work up the courage to tell him the truth, but she had decided against it, because he simply could not love her in return. She was just a sill little bookworm, and he was, well, a man,

Suddenly something changed. A light went out in an apartment window and a figure came out the front doors, carrying a black umbrella and wearing a black rain coat. It was a man, she could tell from his clothing and stance. He was talking on a cell phone and looking around wildly, as if in search of something or running from someone.

She saw a flash of red hair as he put the phone away. It was Charlie, she instinctively knew, and he was looking for her. "Mio!", he was yelling now, "Mio, where are you?" At the sight of him she felt her strength draining and the ground moving closer. "Dragon" she whispered as her body hit the ground and her world went dark.

:This is the beginning of a new scene:

Hermione woke up to dim lights and soft blankets. Confused, she sat up and looked around. The room looked familiar, like somewhere she had vaguely seen but never been. The room was decorated in greens and blues and had obviously been cleaned recently. When she looked at the bedside table, however, she knew exactly where she was.

On the table there were three framed pictures. One was of a dragon, one a picture of the entire Weasley clan, including Harry and her, and the last was a picture of her from her Hogwarts graduation. When she saw this, she tinted a light pink. This was Charlie's room, and she was in Charlie's bed, looking at Charlie's picture of her. She moved to stand up and leave the room.

As if called by her movement, Charlie appeared in the doorway carrying a tray of food. He placed it on the bed stand and pushed her gently back onto the pillows, pulling the blankets up around her shoulders. "No", he said firmly, "You're sick, so you get to stay in bed while I take care of you." He smiled, his straight white teeth showing, "with the help of dear old mum of course."

Using some pillows to prop her up, he pulled her into a better position to eat. Kissing her forehead, he placed the tray on her lap and moved to leave. As quickly as she could, Hermione reached up and grabbed his wrist. "Wait Dragon", she whispered.

Letting her hand drop from his wrist, she twisted them in her lap, staring down at the food and searching her mind for the right words, praying he wouldn't scorn her or run away. "Please." The bed sunk under his weight somewhere near her feet and she felt his hand on her ankle. "What is it Cricket?", he whispered.

"I regret…" she attempted, but the words wouldn't come. She cleared her throat and started again, "I regret a lot of things."

"Then tell me all of them and we'll find the most important together." he said as he moved to sit beside her.

"I regret never learning to sing or do ballet or play hopscotch", she began with the easiest, "I regret spending so much time of my time at Hogwarts reading and not spending more time meeting people and making friends. I regret hating Draco Malfoy and not trusting him as a Phoenix spy. I regret never riding a bike or learning to swim. I regret telling Krum that I loved him and letting him break my heart. And I," she paused here to gather her courage and take a breath, "I regret never telling you that I loved you, that I still love you."

There was silence for several minutes and Hermione feared that he would walk out without responding, or worse say something totally heart breaking. She was still staring at her at the food, and her hands, which she was twisting together in pure fear. She had never been more afraid of anything in her life.

She heard an odd sound from beside her and looked over to see Charlie laughing hysterically. "Oh Mio" he managed to choke out between laughs as he pulled her tight into an embrace, "my Mio."

After waiting several minutes for his chuckling to subside, it didn't, she broke away from him and glared. This was not the reaction she had expected. "And what exactly do you find so funny about THAT!" she managed through clenched teeth. His laughing stopped and he reached out to push her hair back from her face.

"Only you Hermione could have overlooked that fact that I am so in love with you." He smiled as he said this and hesitantly pulled her into a kiss.

After several minutes of passionate snogging, he broke away and jumped off the bed. "Come on Angel, get up!" She groaned and pushed aside the covers to lever herself out of bed. She realized at this point the she was wearing a pair of Charlie's pajama pants and an overly large T-shirt. He winked at her surprised look.

"Molly did it, don't worry, I'm not that creepy!" he laughed, "But come on! That's not important right now." He grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the door, a huge smile on his tan face.

"Where are we going Dragon?' she asked as she gave in and let him pull her into the living room. She was staring at the dragon tattoo on his back and thinking about the matching one she had on her own.

"You said you regretted never riding a bike, it's time you learn." He smiled again, "let's go to the park." He transfigured her clothes into something more appropriate for an outing and apparated them to the park.

Hermione stopped in her tracks as he began to walk along the path. "You think that's the most important thing I regret?" she asked in disbelief as he turned to see why she stopped.

"Of course not, but I had to get you out here on some false pretenses and that seemed like a good bet." He smiled, winked, and dug in his pocket while sinking to one knee.

"What are you talking about", she laughed, but stopped when she realized where he was. "Dragon, what are you doing?"

"Hermione Jane Granger. My angel, my princess, my everything. The joy and light of my life. Will you marry me?" he held out a ring box with a silver band and diamond in it. (An engagement ring, if you didn't catch that)

Tears of joy ran down her face as she threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly. "I'll take that as a yes" he said when they stopped to take a breath of air. Both were smiling like crazy.

"That's definitely a yes" Hermione confirmed and pulled him to his feet and into another kiss. And the last thought she had as she kissed Charlie Weasley in the middle of a public park, on a day when she was supposed to be at work and had a million other things to do, this was one decision she would never regret.

A/N Hope you liked it! It took forever to type. Sorry if there are mistakes, my future beta is busy and I'm to lazy to make her read this and fix it. The dragon tattoos refer to another story I'm writing about Hermione and Charlie that I will post. Please review!


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